


Claw

by HPFandom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Bonding, Chan, Explicit Language, Heterosexual Sex, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Out of Character, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sexual Content, Slash, Slash sex, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-28
Updated: 2008-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-01 02:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10178267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPFandom_archivist/pseuds/HPFandom_archivist
Summary: '"You've seen what I can become.  Tell me, do you really want to tempt me?"'  When Harry ran away at the age of seven, he was bitten by a werewolf.  Now, age 11, he's about to enter the Wizarding community, and he's ready to rock their world.  He's been prepared, by his mate, for what is expected of him, and he's quite adamant in tellingthe whole world to get screwed.  HPSS.





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

** Claw **   
By silvershadowwolf24

_**Notes:** Hey everyone! I know I have to finish SLVAEV and TOP, but I was distracted by this. I was recently reading "Bitten", "Stolen" and "Broken" by Kelley Armstrong (MUST read to everyone that hasn't) and become absolutely fascinated with werewolves. Sorry, vampire lovers, not this time. Anyway, I'll get around to the others soon enough, just don't hold your breath. If anyone has any questions/complaints, either leave a review of e-mail me at  silvershadowwolf24@yahoo.com.au_

** Chapter I **

\--

The pain, it burned.

He couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. He was locked in a state he couldn’t escape, and the knowledge that he’d die like that became strong. He remembered only sharp piercing teeth becoming imbedded in his forearm, before the pain, _this_ pain caged over. Fire laced across his skin like thousands upon thousands of drops of stinging bacon oil, flying up at him from the pan. A sharp pain that usually dissolved into his nerves after only a moment, except this one didn’t dissolve.

He remembered escaping. Escaping from _that_ place. A single memory before that of the teeth. He tried to think of that, but his tortured mind wouldn’t allow for it. He thought he should hear screaming, his own, but he couldn’t hear. Just like his vision, his hearing had been disabled from the rest of him. Maybe that was for the best. He had heard himself screaming before. He didn’t like it.

He became aware of a kind of restlessness in his mind. A new subconscious, something that was much more sinister than his own, something that wanted out. He tried to keep it in, wherever it was being kept, but it promised relief, relief from this terrible torture.

And Harry, soothed by the knowledge, relaxed, and set it free.

\--


	2. Chapter II

** Claw **   
By silvershadowwolf24

**The following applies only to this chapter, and will change in the future.**

_**Warnings:** Um... I don’t think so. Severus’ confusion. A little blood.  
 **Genres:** General.  
 **Rating:** T/GV  
 **Pairings:** None.  
 **Notes:** This was a fun chapter to write. I promised myself that I’d write this chapter, write Faerie Princess Of Doom’s songfic, then get back to _ The Oxyuranus Perspective _. If I bring out something else before I do the above list, everyone can smack me, okay? Doom, expect your songfic sometime next week._

_**Summary:** '"You've seen what I can become. Tell me, do you really want to tempt me?"' When Harry ran away at the age of seven, he was bitten by a werewolf. Now, age 11, he's about to enter the Wizarding community, and he's ready to rock their world. He's been prepared, by his mate, for what is expected of him, and he's quite adamant in telling the whole world to get screwed. HPSS._

  
** Chapter II **

\--

Something moved.

Severus Snape froze where he stood, as years of being paranoid had taught him so. The trees of the forest he was in suddenly seemed to loom over him ominously, like hushed spectators as some violent and often deadly sport. He was searching for a flower he knew to be in this particular forest. It was called Snow’s Petal and it was a very rare potions ingredient. Of course, he’d much rather get the vegetation straight from the source, free of charge, rather than from some dealer where the prices always seemed to have an extra zero at the end.

Problem was, the flower only ever bloomed during particular lunar intervals, and so, to obtain the Petal’s highest potential, it had to be picked during the full moon. Bugger, right? Not usually for one Severus Snape, a.k.a Potions Master extraordinaire, a.k.a Fearless Ex-Death Eater.

Right up until a few moments ago, that is, when something moved not far into the dark forest. His wand slipped into his hand. It was a practiced manoeuvre, one that calmed him and forced him to focus. For a very tense, very long moment, nothing happened. The trees held their breath. Then, just as Severus was about to use _Lumos_ to light up his part of the forest, a low growling noise hissed to life like a part of the wind. He stopped cold, once again.

He knew that sound. It was one that had once sent him bolting upright in bed with sweat pouring off him in streams. He got flashes of an earthy tunnel with light guiding the way. A small opening. Terrible, raging golden eyes. Fur, claws, teeth. The horrifying knowledge was whispered in his mind by a quiet, spiteful little conscious: _there’s a werewolf out there._

Severus gasped; true mind-numbing, piss-your-pants fear began tingling up his spine. He couldn’t find it within himself to move. Adrenaline pumped through his veins faster than any sports league racing broomstick, and yet his legs wouldn’t work. Fight or flight became the primary instinct, but there was no competition over what to choose. Like he could fight a werewolf and win. It was like saying a butterfly could get into a boxing ring with an Acromantula and knock down the spider within the first three minutes.

Severus tried to stay calm, but nothing he said to himself helped. Especially not when the werewolf stepped into his line of sight. “ _Lumos._ ” He whispered, and his wand burst into light like the chemical reaction of magnesium and fire. The wolf bared his teeth in the startling bright light, but otherwise made no movement. For an absurd moment, Severus wanted to laugh. At least the werewolf had no problems adjusting to the sudden blazing white, while he had to blink the darkness from his vision. It took him only a second to realise his internal monologue was babbling, and a second longer to tell it to shut up.

When his vision _had_ cleared, he could see the wolf perfectly. It was large, and deep black. The fur along the back of its neck and shoulders had stood straight only a moment before, and now Severus was able to see the white fading. It was a kind of were-magic, he knew. The ability to flush magic into the hackles to create a contrasting effect. It was also a sign of aggression, stress and dominance, and he was extremely thankful to see it gone.

The werewolf made a snorting sound, an attention grabber he realised. Severus’ gaze flashed back to the werewolf’s eyes, and he was startled by how green they seemed. The shade looked familiar, and yet, he couldn’t place it. The wolf’s ears flicked forward, a sudden movement that froze Severus again, and he had to wonder when he had starting becoming relaxed.

The werewolf’s lips lifted over its sharp, white teeth, and Severus flinched away from it. Terror crowded over thoughts and forced them away with very little will power. If he had been properly listening, like any ex-spy should have been, he’d have heard the crashing of undergrowth.

The wolf leaped at him suddenly, though he had been expecting something like that, and he wondered why he hadn’t thought to use his wand. A blur dominated his vision just as the werewolf’s paws landed on his chest, and forced him to the ground, cracking his head on a rock. Then nothing.

\--

Something tugging on his cloak pulled Severus from unconsciousness. It dragged him rudely back to the real word and he tensed. His body felt strangely disconnected from his mind, and he vaguely wondered why that was. Something wet touched his face and Severus wrenched his eyes open.

A black nose, black furred muzzle, and finally, bright green eyes stared at him with the same intensity with which he usually studied a potions ingredient. Severus tried to yelp, but found his throat wouldn’t work properly. Fear clouded his judgement, and he tried to bring up a hand to push the werewolf away. Yet, when he managed to, the weakness in his arm startled him, and his hand came to rest on the wolf’s dark neck.

The warmth and softness shocked him just as much as his loss of will to get the werewolf away. It was an unsettling feeling, one that Severus was unaccustomed to. He dug his fingers into the thick fur, and the wolf whined, as if it enjoyed the touch. It was a comforting feeling, Severus realised. 

The wolf whined again, and lifted its nose to the dark sky. In a clichéd moment, Severus expected it to howl. It didn’t though, and simply bolted away into the forest. Somewhat disappointed, Severus realised he missed the wolf’s presence. A few minutes past, and when he decided the werewolf wasn’t going to come back, the ex-spy realised he needed to either get the flower, or get back to Hogwarts. Preferably both.

He was just about to try and get up, when a monstrous wave of magic washed over him. It threatened to push him along the ground, but then it simply dispersed into the surrounding forest. Daunted, Severus tried to get up to see what the source of the magic was. He found he couldn’t, however. All the muscles in his lower body were unresponsive, and the rest of his body felt weak. Simple breathing seemed like a struggle. He hadn’t noticed it before because he had been preoccupied with the werewolf.

Trying not to panic, and thinking that he seemed to be panicking a lot that night, he was about to attempt to Apparate, when a boy’s face suddenly appeared in his line of vision. He gasped, his throat protesting painfully. The boy had green coloured eyes, through which he squinted through, as if he had difficult seeing. He also had shaggy black hair that fell past his shoulders and into his face.

“Hi, there.” His voice had a kind of gravel-like edge to it. It sounded like it was about to launch into a growl. Despite everything, he appeared young, around ten years old or so.

“You’re bleeding pretty bad. I can fix you, I think, but you have to let me.”

Severus didn’t need to internally debate the issue. The boy didn’t seem to mean him harm and now he could feel the deep gash in his side and across his stomach. Survival one-oh-one, rapid bleeding demands rapid healing. He nodded painfully, and the boy flashed him a grin and shut his eyes, his hands coming to rest on Severus’ chest.

Nothing happened for a moment, but then Severus felt a separate presence press against his mind. Instinctively, he tried to slam his defensive shields against it, but the presence was already inside. The speed of the attack left him stunned, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Cold, unadulterated fear settled in. The sheer amount of knowledge that he had that could get him killed was frightening. The thought that someone was about to find that knowledge stopped his heart. Yet, he couldn’t do anything about it. Before he could truly panic, however, memories overwhelmed him.

_Shadowy figures cooing at him, loving him. A flash of green light, then darkness. The memory dull with age._

_A whale of a man shouting at him, beating him. A small dark place. They called it “the cupboard”._

_A surge of magic, the door shattering. Running out into the night, away from the pain._

_Bronze fur, dark, frenzied eyes. Terrible pain as teeth sliced his flesh. Another presence. Dark and instinctive. Full moon. Power and joy. Howling. Werewolf._

The presence crashed shut on the torrent of memories, and Severus was free, his mind strangely light after the pressure. The presence seemed to hover nearby, as if nervously awaiting his attention. Severus cautiously sent out a tendril of thought, _Who are you?_

_Harry._ Replied the presence. Severus realised with surprise that the mind-voice was exactly the same as that of the boy he had just met. How did a ten year old have that much power? _I’m gonna heal you now._

Harry’s mind pushed out, finding wounds in and on his body. Magic connected with any injuries he did find and healed them within seconds. It took Harry nearly four minutes to completely heal him. Severus realised that the boy had healed his pre-existing wounds as well, such as various scars and long healed breaks. Even from within his own mind, he felt whole. Something he hadn’t felt for a very long time.

Harry’s presence receded, and Severus slowly opened his eyes. It was still extremely dark, Harry’s wand and the moon providing the only light. He sat up in a relaxed manner, looking around as he did so. Harry was sitting not far away, watching him intently. Except for himself and the boy, the clearing was empty, or so Severus thought until his eyes lit upon a crumpled form of something just at the edge of the radius of light. He could see dark patches of liquid scattered around the form and concentrating underneath it.

With a chilling sensation, Severus rose nimbly to his feet. Ignoring Harry’s sudden anxious expression, although it was definitely noteworthy, he made his way to the form. He held his wand aloft so that he could see better. When he was not four feet from it, he realised what it was.

A large, sand coloured wolf. Its eyes were glazed, its throat ripped out.

If he hadn’t ever been a Death Eater, and had seen more grotesque scenes, he would have been unable to control his rebellious stomach. Thankfully, he could keep control, and his stomach contents stayed in place. He quickly realised that it wasn’t the same werewolf he had seen previously.

“Harry,” he said, voice strained. “What happened?” He was asking in reference to when he was unconscious, but Harry already seemed to know that.

“I... That werewolf had eaten something else that had bitten this weird thing. It makes werewolves go crazy. It smelt you, so it attacked you. I... I killed it before it did anything real bad.”

Severus turned to the boy. He was staring back at the older man with something akin to defiance. A dozen questions swelled to Severus’ tongue like a trapped creature finding an escape route. He asked the one that needed that demanded answering first.

“Why are you out here?”

“I live out here.” Harry replied with confidence.

“Why?” Severus prodded. “Why do you live out here rather than with a family.”

Harry adverted his eyes, as if admitting submission. “My real family died when I was young. After, I was dumped with my Aunt and Uncle. I... I hated it there. So, I ran away.”

“And how did you kill the werewolf?” Severus pressed.

This time, Harry swung his blazing eyes back to Severus’. “I ripped out its throat.”

Severus swallowed. “Are you a werewolf too, Harry?” And Severus knew that it was true, even before Harry nodded. The previous werewolf that he had met had been black, the same shade that Harry’s hair was, and they both had the same coloured eyes. That same shade of green. The one that he found familiar, and yet couldn’t place.

“How did your family die?” Severus asked, curious. It was extremely strange to find a ten or so year old boy in the forest. Even if he was a werewolf. 

“I don’t remember. I sometimes dream of a green light, and someone screaming, but I don’t know what that means.”

A sudden thought came to Severus’ mind. A young boy whose family had died when he was young. Died possibly in a flash of green light. A young boy named Harry.

“Harry, do you know your last name?”

Harry nodded, looking confused. “It’s Potter. I’m Harry Potter.”


End file.
